Gingrich Donor Adelson Sees Fortune Drop

Sheldon Adelson, chairman and chief executive officer of casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp., lost $680 million after China announced its lowest economic growth target since 2004 and shares of the company fell.

The stock declined 2.8 percent yesterday, cutting Adelson’s fortune to $25 billion and making the casino mogul the world’s 13th richest person, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a daily ranking of the world’s wealthiest people. His net worth is up 27 percent this year, the index shows.

Las Vegas Sands owns casinos in China, Singapore and the U.S. China pared the nation’s economic growth target to 7.5 percent from an 8 percent goal in place since 2005, a signal that leaders are determined to cut reliance on exports and capital spending in favor of consumption.

Adelson, 78, and his wife, Miriam, will exercise a warrant to buy 87.5 million common shares at $6 apiece, Las Vegas Sands said in a regulatory filing after U.S. markets closed yesterday.

Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., was the biggest gainer on the list yesterday. His fortune climbed $533.1 million as shares of the Omaha, Nebraska-based investment-holding company advanced 1.2 percent. Buffett, 81, is currently the world’s third-wealthiest person after Carlos Slim and Bill Gates.